Two Years of Hell

Everything changed for Facebook two years ago. The company was accused of making politically biased choices about which news stories showed up as trending topics in users’ news feeds. The adjustments Facebook made in response to those criticisms not only changed Facebook’s platform in fundamental ways, but it also significantly altered the landscape of politics in America and elsewhere. WIREDs editor in chief Nick Thompson has just published—along with his coauthor, contributing editor Fred Vogelstein—a lengthy cover story about Facebook’s “two years of hell.” The gripping saga shows how the social network’s power to affect how its users see the world and its inaction in combatting bad actors have had disastrous consequences. This episode isn’t about gadgets, but it’s an important listen nonetheless.

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